Should you ditch Realtor affiliation to cut costs?

(Boonton, NJ, May 27, 2015) —
Ron Roe made waves in 2010, when he decided to end his 500-agent company’s Realtor membership.

Half a decade later, has Roe been haunted by second thoughts? Not at all.

"We haven’t lost any business," Roe says.

In fact, the head of Russell & Jeffcoat Real Estate in Columbia, SC, says he has only grown more convinced that dropping his company’s longstanding Realtor affiliation was the right move.

For all the emphasis that Realtors place on their trademark, most consumers don’t care if an agent is a Realtor, he says.

One of Roe’s competitors came to a different conclusion. ERA Wilder has remained a member of the local, state, and national associations, even though owner Eddie Wilder says ERA does not require him to.

"It’s certainly a personal choice for a broker," Wilder says. "We gain a lot of value from it. The National Association of Realtors has a strong voice."